For more than 25 years, our energy team has worked with utilities and independent power producers on development and operation of high-voltage transmission lines and interconnection facilities across the United States. These projects require sophisticated legal advisers who are able to navigate a complex federal, state and local energy regulatory framework, as well as land use, environmental compliance, financing and contracting issues associated with transmission infrastructure construction and operation.
Few major law firms have our experience and reputation in energy transmission projects. We’ve advised our clients concerning interstate transmission lines crossing multiple states, tribal lands, private property, and lands and natural resources managed and regulated by various federal agencies, including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and associated natural resource regulatory compliance strategies.
We’ve advised independent power producers on transmission strategies in connection with power plant development in transmission-constrained areas, including siting generator intertie lines to move power from remote locations to regional substations. And as our utility clients face a growing need to expand and modernize local and regional transmission lines and substations, we are on the front line in addressing and resolving the conflicts between existing land uses and the need for critical infrastructure.
We also actively participate in industry associations—such as the Smart Grid Consumer Collaborative—that focus on consumer research, outreach and best practices for utilities, suppliers and vendors. Our leadership as legal advisers on energy transmission projects comes from our collective experience, industry knowledge and reputation for collaborative approaches with all parties to a project.
Our Services
- Compliance and proceedings before Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and local and state energy facility siting bodies and regulators
- Representation at stakeholder proceedings
- Interconnection strategy, negotiations and agreements with regional transmission organizations and utilities
- Negotiation and drafting of precedent agreements, transmission services agreements and joint ownership and facilities use agreements related to interconnection strategies
- Negotiations with Tribal entities and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to secure rights-of-way across Tribal lands and in ceded Native American territories
- Purchase and sale of interconnection and transmission services including due diligence and assessment of interconnection and transmission issues
- Energy storage agreements
- Equipment procurement and construction contracts
- Advice on real estate, condemnation and land use issues
- Federal rights-of-way acquisition, including BLM and Forest Service lands, and associated National Environmental Policy Act compliance
- Local, state and federal permitting and environmental compliance including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permitting, Endangered Species Act take negotiations and compliance, and migratory bird and other protected species conservation planning
- Litigation, dispute resolution and appeals related to defending project proponents against administrative and judicial permit challenges, regulatory enforcement actions and third-party lawsuits